I recently wrote a post called “How to Recognize Spiritual Attack”.  If you suspect you’ve been singled out by the enemy or have a bullseye on your back, then I hope you will take the time to read it.  This post is the promised Part 2 follow-up.

Many christians are not strangers to spiritual attacks.  They happen, and sometimes frequently, so that leads us to ask, “What can we do about it?”  Seriously, who wants to live their lives defeated and miserable?  How can we be victorious over this enemy that hates us so?

When my son was younger he had trouble with a bully at school.  A bully is someone who harasses you, needles you, threatens you or makes you afraid.  They use words or force to try to control you.  That sounds a lot like Satan to me.  He is a bully, always trying to manipulate or boss us.  I gave my son some advice for handling his bully and I think we handle our spiritual bully much the same way.  Here are three ways to deal with “The Bully”.

1.  Ignore him.

I told my son that the more rattled and upset he got when someone was messing with him, the more the bully would like it.  Satan is just like that with all of us.  He loves the show, and wants to see us lose it and come unglued.  So don’t give him anything to work with.  Stay calm.  The angrier, more anxious and more unraveled you become the more he throws darts at you.

2.  Tell on him.

My youngest girls are great friends, but when one of them tries to start bossing the other around, they come and tell me.  I can then step in and rectify the situation.  I remind the bossy child that I am the boss and they have no authority over the other one.  That belongs to me.  Sometimes we have to run and tell on the Devil the way my kids run to me to tell on their bossy sibling.

When kids get bossed around or bullied, they go tell Momma or Daddy? Who is your Father?  God is.  He is your Abba Daddy, so run to Him and tell Him how the Devil is trying to boss you around and let Him deal with it.  He will fight for you.

I’ve mentioned this in past blogs, but a couple of years ago Satan came against our family and caused some real havoc.  My autistic daughter, Cadence, was 11 years old at the time, and the school she attended suggested to us that it was time to put her in residential care…at age 11…3 hours from us.  I know that there are times this has to happen, and we should never pass judgment on parents who have to make that choice.  I was almost one of those parents and may be that parent before my life is over.  But as I prayed about the situation I became convinced that the timing was wrong and this was not God’s plan for her  and that Satan was attempting to rip our family apart.  I really couldn’t do anything about it.  This situation was way bigger than me or my ability to fix.  So I ran and told on the Devil.  I went to God and asked Him to step in the gap between the enemy and us.  To fight for Cadence.  To fight for our family. To rectify the situation.  To show the Devil who is really boss.

He did all those things and more.  He brought about miraculous things that could never be accomplished in our own power and placed her in a different school that specializes in autism.  It also came with a high price tag that we could not afford, but the Lord provided in such a way that it literally took our breath away.  He fought for her.  He fought for our family.  He did what we couldn’t.  At 13 years old, because of this new school, she is learning things every day that have changed all our lives.  We see the impossible happen through her on a regular basis now.  She has blossomed.  That, my friends, is how God fights for us.

I have 5 kids that I love more than life. I’m a pretty rational and reasonable person, but you mess with my kids and I can break out a whole level of crazy you’ve never seen before.  Most parents I know are like that.  We will lay down our lives in order to protect our kids. God has already done that for you! He is your Daddy who loves you with a crazy love that is bigger than anything that can come your way. He has laid down His life for you already, to save your soul.  He already paid the price for your victory with His blood.  The same grace that saves your soul from hell is the same grace that keeps you safely in His hands today.  He will fight for you.  Satan is a big bully,  but your Heavenly Father is bigger.  Tell Him that you’re being bullied and He will step in.

Psalm 8:9,10 – “The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.  Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you.”

3.  Resist Him. Stand up to him.

Back to my son and his bully trouble.  One day the kid started messing with my boy and it was the final straw. My son had enough so he put the bully on the floor.  The bully never bothered him again.  Sometimes you just have to stand up against the bully and resist him.  James 4:7 tells us to “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

We make the mistake sometimes of thinking that God and Satan are equal.  That isn’t true.  God is the creator of the world and supreme ruler of the universe.  He can be everywhere and know all things all at the same time and he also has power over all things.   Satan, on the other hand, is a created being who is not equal to God and he does not have authority over you if you belong to Jesus.  In fact, it’s the other way around. In  Luke 10:19  Jesus says, “I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy”.

Sometimes I will tell one of my kids, “you tell your sister that I said to stop _______”.  They then run outside empowered with my authority to make the current Post bully stop what they are doing.  There’s a lot of power for an 8-year-old in “Mom said!”

When you are being bullied by the enemy then you can stand up to Satan in the authority of Jesus!  You remind him…out loud… because he is limited and can’t read your mind…remind him who you are.  There’s a lot of power for us in “Jesus said!”  So who does Jesus say you are ?

• Loved – You are the cherished child of the most high God.
• Safe – God is your Daddy and He holds you safely in the palm of his hand.
• Protected – Nothing can separate you from the love of God, nothing in life or death, and not spiritual powers.
• Powerful – You have been given the promise that if you resist Satan he will flee. He will run away like the rat that he is into a hole.
• This list could go on and on and would make a great personal Bible study for ammunition against the enemy when he starts whispering his lies into your ear.

Resist. The. Enemy!  Resist him in the mighty name of Jesus.  His name empowers us and gives us authority over Satan.  Resist his attacks on you, your family, your church, your school,  your friends, your relationships, your health and your finances.  Stand up to him in the power of Jesus.

I mentioned in Part 1 that my 6-year-old was trapped in fear. I taught this concept to her, to resist Satan.  I would sometimes hear her talking and go and check on her and ask who she was talking too?  She would say…”I’m telling the Devil to leave me alone, because I belong to Jesus.”  She did that for a while and the nightmares stopped, she started sleeping in her own room again, and she is no longer afraid.  If a 6-year-old can be attacked, then you can be too.  But if a 6-year-old can resist Satan and be victorious over the enemy, you can too.

And the really amazing part about being victorious over the enemy is that God will very often take the thing that Satan intended to beat you with and turn it around and use it for your good and His glory.  There’s nothing sweeter than stepping out of the place of a victim into the place of a victor.

Cheering you on!

 Ephesians 6:10-16:

 10A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12For we^c are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

13Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.^d 16In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.

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